In Bed Before 7? You Don't Say!

It has been one of those days, and everyone reading this knows what I mean. I woke up feeling slightly hazy, and no matter what I did all day I couldn't shake the fuzz on my brain. Yup, one of those days.

I went for my 3.5 mi run this morning, which I will admit terrified me. I left the house just before 5am, and it was obviously still dark. Last night I had used this to figure out a nice route to incorporate the extra half mile that I usually don't run in the mornings. Well, I picked a few new streets on this route that happen to have very little nighttime lighting. And for those of you who have never been up before the sun comes up, 5 am is basically nighttime for all intents and purposes. Anyway, here I am, phone-less, iPod-less, key-less, even, running down unfamiliar roads in the dark. It's no wonder my husband wants to buy me a road tag. (A road tag is basically an identification bracelet, anklet, or shoelace attachment for runners in case of an emergency.) The poor Beard probably thinks I'll be kidnapped.

But I digress. Back to my brain fuzz.

I had my usual cup of coffee at work, and I got cracking into my computer training early. As a government intern, I am required to do an irritatingly large amount of computer training in order to become certified and useful to the U.S. Government as soon as possible; my strategy has been to knock it out in the mornings, then roam the plant in the afternoon when I'd rather be taking a nap.

At about 0715 I sat down in front of a training module on government acquisition (doesn't get more thrilling than that, does it?) and got to work. By about 0800, I had lost all attention in what I was doing and wanted to just go home.

This pattern stayed with me all day, even when a few of us left the plant for "official U.S. government business". Usually I'm thrilled when I can leave the plant during the day, if only for a short while like it was today. This afternoon, though, I felt like I couldn't concentrate on walking straight, let alone be excited to be outside.

I managed to get home in one piece and cook some coconut shrimp for dinner (my absolute favorite summer dish), and now I'm in bed. I have a wonderful husband that cleaned up after dinner and gave me a cup of tea so I could sit under the covers and send my thoughts into cyberspace. I'm hoping for sanity and brain clarity tomorrow. Oh well.

Early Mornings, Early Evenings

It's amazing how simple things can really change your life. Take, for instance, your breakfast cereal. If you are accustomed to eating a bowl of Lucky Charms every morning, then suddenly switch to Raisin Bran, your body will have some adjusting to do. The lack of sugar may give you headaches at first, but the increase in fiber content will have you intestines thanking you in no time (quite literally, sometimes).
Well I've recently found that changing my sleeping schedule has dramatically changed my productivity levels. I was once accustomed to working an 8-5 job, coming home, going for a run, showering, eating, then hitting the couch. I now work a 7:30-4 job (who needs an hour for lunch anyway?), and find time run, shower, do dishes, clean up around the house, read, and even stop by my husband's job to say hello and get some face time in before I hit the hay.
Now don't get me wrong, getting up at 5:30 in the morning can be quite daunting. The first few days I wasn't sure I'd be able to function. But giving myself an hour and a half to gain consciousness and normal bodily function helped me to be able to leave at 7am to get the work (not a long commute, just a HUGE parking lot and a few entrance procedures). I've found that to my surprise, and much to my husband's disgruntlement, I am a morning person. For now, this does not bode well for us; he works the second shift at a college across town, and he typically gets home around 12:30 or 1am to find me fast asleep in bed. He'll wake me for a few minutes to say goodnight, and usually I am neither coherent, nor very responsive. In the mornings when I'm chipper, I find him grunting and refusing to open his eyes when he reaches over to kiss me "Good Morning".
I have never heard good things about this idea of husband and wife having opposing schedules, but surprisingly, it works for us. Since my husband does not work Wednesday or Friday nights, nor at all on the weekends, we get two nights a week and a full weekend to spend time together. By the time Wednesday rolls around, we crave each other. We want so badly to lay in each others' arms and rub noses like crazy, lovey Eskimos. THIS, my friends, is most definitely the benefit to having a different schedule as your spouse.
You both find yourselves wanting sex more, and when you do find time for it, you savor it. Although, this could be because we've only been married a month. But hey, it's working.